A typical automobile radiator consists of spaced apart inlet and outlet headers which are interconnected by a plurality of tubes which extend through a number of parallel fins over which ambient air is drawn by a fan (or by the forward movement of the automobile), the air serving to cool the engine coolant. If the automobile is provided with an automatic transmission, it may be necessary to provide a heat exchanger for cooling the transmission oil or fluid. In one form of transmission oil cooler an oil cooler is provided over which air may pass. In another form, which is more typical of many automobiles, the transmission oil cooler is actually disposed within one of the headers of the automobile radiator, and therefore the transmission oil is cooled by the engine coolant as it passes over this heat exchanger. To this end, a radiator which utilizes this form of transmission oil cooler is provided with a header having a pair of spaced apart apertures. The associated oil cooler is provided with fittings which extend through the apertures and to which oil lines may be secured directly.
In practice a number of disadvantages have been found with this prior art construction. One disadvantage is that, due to the height of the fitting, it is only possible to mount an oil cooler having four heat exchange plates within the typical automobile radiator header. Another disadvantage relates to the use of seal plugs. Thus, after assembly of the fitting to the oil cooler it is necessary to seal the oil cooler to prevent the introduction of foreign elements into the cooler. This is done by screwing threaded plugs into the oil cooler fittings. The oil cooler is subjected to a number of processing steps before final assembly into the radiator header. After final assembly the radiator is shipped to the assembly plant which may be many hundreds of miles away. At the final assembly location, it is then necessary to remove these plugs. It has been found in practice that it is frequently difficult to remove these plugs, which disassembly may take place many months after the plugs were installed. The labor costs associated with the removing of these plugs and the subsequent waste of these plugs is considered to be excessive. A further disadvantage relates to the subsequent servicing of the vehicle. Once the transmission oil line has been secured to the existing fitting of the prior art, it has been found that during servicing of the automobile that it is frequently necessary to cut the oil line in order to remove the radiator, as servicemen are reluctant to disconnect the end of the oil line from the radiator in view of a variety of problems. Finally, it has been noted that the existing fittings of the prior art, which are made of a ferrous material, will frequently corrode, and up to one-half of the anti-rust ingredient of the initial coolant fill will be utilized in overcoming the rust attributable to the transmission oil line fittings.